Alicia's Keys vs Autograph Grand
The fundamental difference between Autograph Grand and Alicia's Keys lies in their conceptualization and size, with Autograph Grand being a compact, free offering and Alicia's Keys a larger, commercial product centered around a specific artist's instrument. Autograph Grand is a single-preset instrument with a modest 0.7 GB library, while Alicia's Keys features 12 velocity layers within a 17 GB library with 3,000 samples, indicating a much deeper sampling approach.
Sonically, Autograph Grand provides a natural, clean, and balanced tone from a Yamaha C6 grand, sampled with one mic position. In contrast, Alicia's Keys specifically models Alicia Keys' personal Yamaha C3 Neo grand piano, aiming for a warm, intimate character, with its sound and recording techniques shaped in collaboration with the artist. The recording environment also differs, with Autograph Grand captured in a professional studio in Malibu and Alicia's Keys recorded in the artist's personal studio.
Choose Autograph Grand if you need a free, lightweight, and versatile grand piano VST with a clean, balanced sound for general recording or songwriting. Choose Alicia's Keys if you seek a deeply sampled, character-rich grand piano with a warm, intimate tone, specifically designed to embody the sound aesthetics of Alicia Keys, and are prepared for a larger library size and mid-range price point.
Products Compared
Insights from Real-World Use
Alicia's Keys
- I connect with this gorgeous piano, can't stop playing, highly recommend it.
- Pricing/value assessment and use-case recommendation
- Interface design and parameter layout
- Preset quality and overall sound enjoyment
- Attack/release behavior, sound-design flexibility, release samples
Autograph Grand
- Autograph Grand is a new go-to free piano, sounding really good despite paid alternatives.
- Highly recommended, competitive with other free pianos.
- Impressed with its well-rounded sound, simplicity, and versatility as a single plugin.
- Easy to play chords with, encouraging continuous playing, and free feels are gorgeous.
- About time! As much as I love the Soft Piano, it isn't the most versatile sound for other scenarios. This is the kind of piano I would use to score Ghibli movies. Love it...